COVID-19 updates: US sees 1st day since early November with fewer than 100,000 new cases
The U.S. reported just over 96,000 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 105 million people worldwide and killed over 2.3 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Latest headlines:
US Senate approves budget resolution to pass $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package
The U.S. Senate approved a budget resolution early Friday morning that would allow for the passage of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package without the threat of a filibuster from Republican lawmakers who oppose it.
Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate by casting a vote in favor of the Democratic measure, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The resolution now goes back to the House for final approval.
Biden has said he hopes to garner Republicans' support for his sweeping COVID-19 relief package, billed as the American Rescue Plan, though Democrats are working to push it through Congress with or without the GOP.
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine effective against UK variant, researchers say
University of Oxford researchers said Friday that the COVID-19 vaccine they developed with British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca remains effective against a new, more contagious variant of the novel coronavirus currently circulating in the United Kingdom.
A preprint of ongoing work to assess effectiveness of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine shows that the existing version has similar efficacy against the so-called B117 variant to previously circulating variants. The preprint also describes recent analysis showing that the vaccination "results in a reduction in the duration of shedding and viral load, which may translate into a reduced transmission of the disease," according to a press release from the university.
"Data from our trials of the ChAdOx1 vaccine in the United Kingdom indicate that the vaccine not only protects against the original pandemic virus, but also protects against the novel variant, B117, which caused the surge in disease from the end of 2020 across the UK," Andrew Pollard, professor of pediatric infection and immunity at the University of Oxford and chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, said in a statement.
The B117 variant was first identified last September in Kent, England, and has since spread to dozens of other countries.
"We are working with AstraZeneca to optimize the pipeline required for a strain change should one become necessary," Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford and chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, said in a statement. "This is the same issue that is faced by all of the vaccine developers, and we will continue to monitor the emergence of new variants that arise in readiness for a future strain change."
Ghana's Parliament reduces sessions due to COVID-19 outbreak
The Parliament of Ghana will reduce its sessions to twice a week after dozens of lawmakers and legislative staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Addressing lawmakers on the floor Thursday, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin said at least 15 members of Parliament and 56 staffers have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. They have been asked to self-isolate while steps are being taken to have members of their household tested as well.
There are still 48 members of Parliament who have yet to be tested, according to Bagbin.
Starting next week, Ghana's Parliament will only sit on Tuesdays and Thursdays in an effort to control the spread of the virus. Only the lawmakers and staffers who are needed on those days will be allowed inside the building, Bagbin said.
Schools reopened across the West African nation in January, following a 10-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. But as COVID-19 infections rise again, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo on Sunday reimposed a ban on social gatherings.
Ghana has confirmed at least 63,883 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, including 390 deaths, according to the latest data from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New vaccine helpline in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County gets over 15,000 calls per second
The Allegheny County Health Department in Pennsylvania said 750 residents made appointments to be vaccinated against COVID-19 on Thursday through a new phone registration offered by the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania's 211 helpline.
The call center began receiving calls well before the official start time at noon on Thursday. In the first five minutes following the announcement of the phone registration, there were 653 calls into the helpline. More than 15,000 calls were coming in per second throughout the day, attempting to reach the center, according to a press release from the Allegheny County Health Department.
"We have known for a while that the demand for vaccines far outweighs the supply, and today’s phone registration only underscores that," Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, said in a statement Thursday. "While we realize that there were many, many people who were frustrated because they did not receive an appointment, we also were able to serve 750 individuals who may not have had the opportunity to schedule otherwise."
The 211 helpline is for only scheduling vaccination appointments for Allegheny County residents who are 65 and older. Appointments are for the Allegheny County Health Department's Point of Dispensing inside the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Monroevile, about 10 miles east of Pittsburgh. Other vaccine providers in the county have separate registration systems, the health department said.
Delta to offer vaccines to Atlanta workers
Delta will offer vaccinations to Georgia employees who are 65 and older starting on Monday, a company spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
A health care provider will administer the vaccines in a section of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Concourse C) and space at the Delta Flight Museum from Feb. 8 to Feb. 14. Delta's headquarters are located in Atlanta.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo last week that 690 Delta employees had received at least one vaccination shot.
"We continue to work with federal and state authorities to prioritize immunizations for frontline Delta people," Bastian wrote in the memo. "While healthcare workers and our most vulnerable are already getting their shots, I strongly encourage each of you to get vaccinated when your time comes."
ABC News' Mina Kaji contributed to this report.